Japanese 50 foods that you should know!

Hello. I’m Mishi. Let’s talk about Japanese food today. There are many Japanese original foods and they have been known around the world. I love to eat them and sometimes, I make them at home. Do you like them? 且⊂(ﾟ∀ﾟ*) Do you want to know what kind of food they have? ヽ( ^∀^)ﾉ It’s really various and everywhere you go in Japan, you will get to see the local original foods. You will never get enough of tasting all the many different Japanese delicious cuisine.

On this post, I made the list of 50 Japanese foods that you should know.

1:Tofu(豆腐)

Tofu looks healthy, right?

Tofu is a (soy)bean curb. There is a film Tofu too. It’s so soft and if you touch it without paying attention, it would break easily. Sometimes, you will see a hamburger that is made of Tofu. This has been popular in the world. Probably, you know it, right? Tofu is known as a healthy food or diet food and people love Tofu! （´▽｀*） If you eat it without cooking or seasoning, there is no taste. Japanese eats it with soy sauce. They also put green onion or sliced ginger.

2:Okome(お米)

Japanese rice is sweet

Okome or Kome means a rice in Japan. What’s good about Japanese rice? It is so sticky and little bit sweeter than other rice. It matches with all types of food and I eat it every day!

3:Gobo(ごぼう)

Can you eat burdock?

Gobo is a burdock. The famous cuisine with Gobo is Kinpira Gobo. It is cooked with Gobo, meat, carrot, and green pepper generally. The sauce is mixed with soy sauce and sesame oil. There are many foreigners who get surprised to see Japanese people eat this but the taste is really good if you cook it with sauce.

4:Konnyaku(コンニャク)

It’s soft and moist

Konnyaku is paste made from konjac flour. I think a devil’s tongue is how it is known by us? It’s a healthy food and is low calorie. I ate it before but without seasoning, it doesn’t have a taste at all. Knnyaku is known as a diet food in Japan and there is a Konnyaku jelly that is really good. I recommend you to eat it as Oden.

5:Natto(納豆)

Natto is sticky!

Natto is fermented soybeans. This food will choose the people to like it or not. It is because it is so sticky~! Before eating it, you stir it and it becomes more sticky~! You usually eat it with soy sauce and Karashi(Japanese mustard). Japanese eat it on top of the rice too. They put Japanese egg and eat it but you don’t want to eat foreign raw eggs so if you go to Japan, you should try it!

6:Nizakana(煮魚)

Boiled Japanese bluefish “Mutsu”

Nizakana is boiled fish or fish boiled in broth. I’m not good at eating raw fish but I can eat them if they are cooked like this. It’ll get rid of the raw smell and raw taste, the sauce will go underneath the meat of fish. If you don’t like the fishy taste, you should try Nizakana at first!

7:Yakizakana(焼き魚)

Yakizakana “Ayu(sweetfish)”

Yakizakana is grilled fish. It’s usually grilled with salt and popular for foreigners. Sometimes, I see the ranking of Japanese foods that foreigners chose and I find Yakizakana many times. I personally don’t like to eat fish this way because many bones annoy me. I think I shouldn’t act like a child but what do you think? Would you like it?

8:Fugu(河豚)

Fugu Sashimi

Fugu is a globefish that has poison. But Japanese chefs at restaurants know how to remove the poison and serve customers. These chefs have to have a license to deal with globefish so don’t worry. Fugu cuisine is known as expensive food in Japan and not many people eat it. Probably, for the price and scariness to eat!

9:Shirako(白子)

It’s weird look!

Shirako is soft cod roe. If you don’t like Sashimi because it is raw, I don’t think you will like this, but without tasting it, don’t judge! You might love it! I think if you eat it as tenputa, probably, you would be able to eat it! You must try it!

10:Nihon Cha(日本茶)

O~i Ocha!

Nihon Cha means Japanese green tea. I drink Japanese tea every day. My favorite one is the roasted Japanese tea. This is not a food but I think this is one of the Japanese things that you should know. There are many kinds of teas so it would be fun to taste each one of them.

11:Onigiri(おにぎり)

Onigiri with Japanese plum(Ume)

Onigiri is Japanese for rice ball. They make rice ball with salt. This is a simple way but if you go to Japan, you will see many different kinds of food inside of the rice ball. The container for the rice ball in Japan is cool. You can easily tear the bag off of rice ball. You should try it in Japan!

12:Omisoshiru(お味噌汁)

This soup is called Tonjiru(Pork soup)

In Japan, rice = miso soup. This is a set! Miso soup is usually with vegetables but there are many kinds of ingredients there. For example, fish, meat, and so on. Every region or local places have their own way to make. In Japan, miso soup is called the taste of mother.

13:Tsukemono(漬け物)

I love to eat it!

Tsukemono is pickled vegetables. There are many vegetables for it. For example, cucumber, eggplant, Daikon radish, and so on. It’s usually pickled in salt, miso, sake lees, or rice bran so the taste has a depth. Tsukemono matches with rice and you would feel like you can eat them forever!

14:Tamago Gohan(卵ご飯)

Can you eat it like this?

Tamago Gohan is rice with raw egg. I’m sure that most foreigners want to stay away from this, but In Japan, they eat raw egg. When they eat this dish, they put soy sauce over rice and egg. They stair them together and eat. Will you be able to eat it? (‘-^*)

15:Basashi(馬刺し)

It looks like normal sliced meat

Basashi is a horsemeat sashimi. I’ve never eaten it but I wonder if it would be good or not. Have you eaten it before? If so, please let me know! This food is not that popular like all of the Japanese people eat it but it’s known in Japan. It’s said to be expensive but would really melt on your tongue and you can get to feel a happiness.

16:Nikujaga(肉じゃが)

Green peas on it

Nikujaga is meat and potato stew. It’s good to eat it in winter. Niku means meat and Jaga(Jagaimo) means potato in English. It’s one of the Japanese nation food and many people make it at home. The ingredients are various but representative things would be beef or any kind of meat really(it doesn’t really matter what kind of meat you use), onion, potato, carrot, and so on. It’s very nice food with rice.

17:Somen(そうめん)

It looks good for summer time

Somen is thin noodles that are made of wheat. This is usually in summer because the Japanese often eat it cold. This is called cold somen(Hiyashi Somen). But they also eat it hot too. Somen, Udon, and Soba are similar foods so it would be good to be able to recognize which one is which.

18:Udon(うどん)

Kitsune Udon

Udon is thick noodles that are made of wheat. Japanese eat it cold or hot. Japanese put Tempura on top of the Udon. This is called Tempura Udon. Udon and Soba often have a conflict of which taste is better by Japanese. Which one do you like it better? Personally, both are good to me! I can’t compare which one is better. (*￣ω￣)v

19:Soba(蕎麦)

Tempura Soba

Soba is thin noodles that are made of buckwheat. Soba can be recognized easily by the look. Japanese people eat it cold and hot too like Udon and Somen.

20:Unaju(うな重)

The sauce touches the rice and that would be delicious!

Unaju is eel over rice. Japanese has the days called Doyo no Ushi no Hi(土用の丑の日) are before 18-19 days to each season. When the season changes, people tend to get sick so to not get sick, they eat eel. Eel has much Vitamin A, B, and the nutrition to keep our body healthy. That is why they have the days to eat Unaju. Eels have many bones but they are so soft. With sauce they put over it is fantastic taste. You would love Unaju~!

21:Buta no Shoga Yaki(豚のしょうが焼き)

One of the Japanese home foods!

Thinly sliced pork is fried with ginger. It is so yummy and your appetite would be satisfied with it for sure.

22:Gyoza(餃子)

I have frozen Gyoza in my fridge…..

Gyoza is a dumpling with minced pork and vegetable stuffing. The idea of Gyoza is originally from China but it is different. Generally, Chinese boil it at first and drain hot water, Japanese fry it. Both are great cuisine and you will not stop eating it! Japanese usually eat it with Ramen. If you go to Ramen a shop, you will see it.

23:Omelet Rice(オムライス)

It reminds me of the maid cafe!

Omelet rice is a stir-fried rice wrapped in an omelet. They eat it with Ketchup. They put sliced vegetables while stir-frying the rice.

I talked about this when I made the post about the maid cafe, this food is popular to serve customers. They use Ketchup to draw a picture on Omelette.

24:Menchikatsu(メンチカツ)

It’s juicy!

Menchi Katsu is deep-fried minced meat. This food takes minced pork or beef to cook and mixed with onion(you might see other vegetables too). The name of this food is “Menchi Katsu” in Japanese. Menchi means “mince” in English and Katsu is “pork”. They eat it as a side food with the main food dish. It has great taste. Don’t make a mistake with Croquette!

25:Tonkatsu(とんかつ)

Tonkatsu in a bento box

It is similar to Menchi katsu and they are kind of the same food but the difference is the meat. Ton Katsu is only cooked with pork. The part of pork is shoulder and medallion. Ton means pork in English so it takes only pork.

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26:Croquette/Korokke(コロッケ)

This one has corns inside!

Croquette is a deep-fried bread-crumbed food containing mashed potatoes. They also put ground beef and vegetables. The way it looks is similar to deep-fried minced meat but the materials are different. The idea of this food is originally from Europe. Japanese modified the origin food as added Japanese materials and became like this. I ate Croquette hamburger before and it was so delicious!

27:Ochazuke( お茶漬け)

The red one is a pickled plum!

Rice again! Yes, Ochazuke is rice with hot tea poured on it. There are many flavors for it. Seaweed is common material and with it, for example, salmon, pickled plum, Wasabi, or so on. I remember the CM of this food. The guy was eating it with slurping sound in the quiet place. Oh, that makes me want to eat it now! ( ´,_ゝ｀)

28:Matsutake(松茸)

Old style way to eat it!

Matsutake is a Japanese mushroom. Comparing to other mushrooms, Matsutake is so expensive. Do you think why it is so? Matsutake is a Japanese mushroom that only grows up in nature without being touched by humans and Most of Matsutake collect in red pine woods but it’s rare to collect. Top of that, it takes 5 years for Matsutake to grow up. This is why it’s so expensive. But Matsutake has good smell and taste so it’s a great ingredient to cook Japanese foods.

29:Chawan Mushi(茶碗蒸し)

This Chawanmushi has crab!

Chawan Mushi is Japanese steamed egg custard. There are many ways to make this dish. Every place has their own way of making it and putting in different kinds of fish or vegetables. It is hot to eat but has great taste.

30:Nabe Ryori(鍋料理)

This Nabe is called “Yosenabe”

Japanese winter season is for this food. Nabe Ryori is not a specific name because there are many kinds of foods. Nabe Ryori is a cuisine to use a hot pot. You can put fish, vegetables, meat, and more. They also put Udon at the end to eat. You can’t live through Japanese winter without this!

31:Mochi(餅)

It’s about to pop!

Mochi is a rice cake and so sticky! It’s so cool to see how they pound rice to make it sticky. Have you seen Japanese make it? One person pounds it and other person arranges it with a wooden mallet in a mortar. It will amaze you for sure. Anyway, Mochi can be used for many Japanese foods and they usually eat it in New Year. My favorite way to eat Mochi is to grill it until it gets soft and dip it in the sauce which is mixed soy sauce and sugar!

32:Karaage(唐揚げ)

Lemon will tighten the taste of Karaage!

Karaage is deep-fried chicken. I have a Japanese Chanel that is called “TV JAPAN” and I see this CM. It makes me mad to see because it makes me hungry for it! ψ(｀∇´)ψ

33:Monjayaki(もんじゃ焼き)

See? It’s a liquid way!

Monjayaki is a savory pancake with various fillings. There are vegetables, meats, seafood, and sometimes, Mochi too. It is kind of the same thing as Okonomiyaki but the difference is liquid ingredients. You eat it on a hot pan and enjoy the burn part too. It’s popular in Kanto region(around Tokyo area).

34:Okonomiyaki(お好み焼き)

The white part is mayonnaise!

Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake with many ingredients. For example, vegetables, fish, meat, and so on. It is similar to Monjayaki but you make it like a pancake. It’s easy to make it at home and I make it sometimes. You have to buy a certain sauce, though.

35:Oden(おでん)

Which one would you choose at first?

Oden is many different kinds of food in a light soy soup. They use vegetables, fish, meat, and many other materials. There is Oden shop as street stalls. They drink Sake and eat this cuisine. Of course, you will be able to find it at a restaurant too. This is one of the foods that Japanese eat in the winter.

36:Don(丼)

This is called “Gyudon”

It’s not the boss of bad guys! Don means rice bowl in English so it’s the general name of the foods to use a rice bowl. There are many various Don, for example, seafood Don, a deep-fried pork cutlet rice Don, and more. I’m sure you will find your favorite Don in Japan!

37:Wagashi(和菓子)

Wagashi set!

This is a Japanese snack. Japanese foods are known for their look, smell, and to eat. It is like an art and they won’t let you get bored with anything. This is just a snack but isn’t it beautiful? Of course, there are many various kinds of Wagashi so every time you go somewhere in Japan, you should stop by the local places to check. You will find something beautiful snacks that you don’t want to eat them, but just want to look at them!

38:Sukiyaki(すき焼き)

Tofu is here again!

Sukiyaki is a sliced beef cooked with many ingredients in a hot pot. Vegetables are generally onions, green onions, Tofu, Shiitake(Japanese mushroom), carrot, and more. It looks delicious, right? But many foreigners back off after Japanese dip them in raw eggs! Do you want to try it now? (゜▽゜*) Don’t worry about Japanese raw eggs. You can eat it but now, what are you going to do?

39:Ramen(ラーメン)

Soy sauce Ramen

This is pretty much known around the world. Around my place, there are many Ramen shops. There are many kinds of soup and tastes are varied. If you want to eat it lightly, I suggest you have a soy sauce Ramen. If you want a strong taste, you should eat Tonkotsu Ramen. Tonkotsu soup is a pork bone broth. It has greasy taste and heavy Ramen. Which taste of Ramen is your favorite?

40:Tsukemen(つけ麺)

You dunk noodles in soup!

Tsukemen is dipping noodle. You will be served cold noodle and sauce to dip. It’s a type of Ramen. They sometimes have Soba or Udon style too. Every time I hear Tsukemen, I always remember the Japanese comedian say “Ramen, Tsukemen, Boku Ikemen!”. This makes me laugh hard! It means “Ramen, Tsukemen, and I’m good looking!” In English….. Do you know this Japanese comedian??

41:Curry Rice(カレーライス)

Have you seen it in anime?

This cuisine is so popular and everybody loves it. If you ask Japanese which Japanese dish is his or her favorite dish most will say curry. Curry is originally from India but curry rice is one of the Japanese national foods. I have never seen somebody who hates this food. There are many tastes for curry rice. My favorite one is the spicy one! If you find curry paste at your local store, it is easy to make so you should try! I make curry rice often and I love it!

42:Takoyaki(たこ焼き)

Octopus are inside!

Takoyaki is octopus dumplings and popular in Japan. They usually put bonito flakes and green dried seaweed with sauce. It’s weird to see the bonito flakes dance on Takoyaki but the taste is guaranteed. One of the Takoyaki chain company called, “Gindako” is my favorite Takoyaki shop. Sometimes, you will see people put something different inside of Takoyaki instead of octopus and are very unique. I love the surface of the dumplings it’s crunchy!

43:Taiyaki(たい焼き)

It’s cute. You just want to keep on taking a look at them!

Taiyaki is a Japanese pancake, however, the difference is a shape and ingredient. They fill with bean jam and make a shape of fish. This fish is called Tai and it’s red snapper in English. You’ll sometimes see not only bean jam but chocolate, cheese, or many different kinds of ingredients inside instead of bean jam. It’s a cute snack!

44:Yakisoba(焼きそば)

As if you can smell it from the picture!

Yakisoba is fried noodles and cooked with vegetables and meat. Japanese also put bonito flakes and green seaweed on top of it. Ramen is more popular than Yakisoba but this one is very delicious. It’s also easy to make it. You’ll see sometimes Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba mixed together. This style is called “Hiroshimayaki”.

45:Yakitori(焼き鳥)

A bunch of Yakitori!

Yakitori is grilled meat of chickens on a stick. While it’s grilled, they season it with a sauce or salt. There are many kinds of Yakitori and you would never get enough to eat it. The famous places that serve Yakitori are at Izakaya. Izakaya is a Japanese style bar restaurant. Maybe, I should say a Japanese pub to let you imagine better. If you want to eat many kinds of Japanese foods at the same time, Izakaya serves all kinds of foods so this place would be the restaurant that you want to go to.

46:Tempura(天ぷら)

Tempura is famous in the world!

Tempura has been known in the world. You’ve heard the name before, right? There are many Japanese restaurants serve Tenpura in foreign countries. Tempura is deep-fried fish and vegetables and you can’t forget the feeling of the crunchy part. They dip it in sauce and you can enjoy with different flavors. I love to hear the sound of Tempura while it’s been deep-fried. My favorite one is shrimp!

47:Yakiniku(焼き肉)

It’s good to eat Yakiniku with your friends!

Yakiniku is grilled meat and vegetables. They are surrounded around the grill and cook them together. This is basically Japanese style BBQ. There are many Yakiniku restaurants in Japan and some restaurants are buffet style. In Japan, there is a wide range of prices depending on the meat. You know Kobe meat is really expensive, right? I have never tasted it but it’s said that Kobe meat melts on your tongue. Mmm, one day, I want to eat it! Don’t wear your expensive clothing to go to these restaurants because the smell of smoke would leave a scent on you! When you leave these restaurants, they usually give you candy or gum to freshen your breath. They also carry a spray to get rid of the smell on your clothing! Japanese are so considerate! d(゜∀゜d)

48:Shabu-shabu(しゃぶしゃぶ)

That color is not done yet!

Shabu-shabu is such a popular Japanese food for foreigners. Of course, for Japanese too but it is so unique. Shabu-shabu takes sliced thin meat and vegetables. Many Japanese put Udon noodles too. You keep on boiling the water in a pot and dunk the meat and vegetables. The sign of being ready to eat meat is when it changes color. When you eat it, you dip it in a sauce. But you don’t dump meat in hot water. As you are dunking the meat you are holding the meat with your chopsticks, you move your meat until it changes color. The rhythmical sound of water, while you are moving your meat sounds like Shabu Shabu. That is how this food got its name. Let’s say Shabu Shabu while you are cooking!

49:Sashimi(刺し身)

Sashimi on gorgeous Japanese boat!

Sahimi is raw fish which are cut or sliced. Comparing to Sushi, they cut fish thicker than Sushi. They usually dip it in soy sauce but there are many kinds of sauce. This food always chooses people to like it or not because it is raw fish. Sashimi has been known and a popular Japanese food in the world. If you want to know more about Sashimi, here is my other post about Sashimi.

50:Sushi(寿司)

Everybody knows it!

Do I have to talk about it? (・ω・）I think everybody knows Sushi nowadays. Sushi is raw fish on top of the rice. If you go to the Kaitenzushi(回転ずし) which is like a family type of Sushi restaurant, you can see hamburger is on rice! Kids can easily eat it and enjoy the good family time. If you want to know Sushi more, there you go!

Summary

How were those foods? I just introduced you to the famous Japanese foods. There are more interesting Japanese foods that you would love in Japan. Japan is a country of foods! If you have a chance to go to Japan, enjoy eating delicious dishes!

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Konnichiwa! ━━ヽ(*ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ I'm Mishi. My passion towards Japan got me to create this blog. As I learn Japanese culture, I want to share the world of Japan with you! Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu(nice to meet you)! ヽ(=ﾟωﾟ)人(ﾟωﾟ=)ﾉ